Friday, June 12, 2015

June 2015 Book Haul - To Be Continued ...

After nearly a month of no purchases, I made a long overdue trip to my local Half Price Books and Barnes and Noble last night. Like I said, it has been about a month now since I last went book shopping, and the weather was dreary. Perfect time for some book browsing, right? That's what I thought until I nearly lost my life during the flash flooding that accrued. The rain was coming down in sheets when I left Half Price Books. Despite a mad dash run to my car I still became quite soaked, but the books arrived safely. I sacrificed myself in order to protect them. Six books were bought there. I was already soaked, I had my heart set on going to Barnes and Noble, so I did. Another mad dash from my car, across the parking-lot, to the store. The rain was coming down even harder now if you can believe it. I calmly walked in the door with water literally dripping from my hair and my clothes, and streaming down my face ... people stared. I just laughed and stated the obvious, "Do not go out there!". Two books were bought from Barnes and Noble. The rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon, so another mad dash across the parking lot to my car, again clutching the bag containing my books. I don't believe that I could of been any wetter at this point other then if I had been immersed in water. Then the forty five minute drive home, soaking wet, and barely able to see the highway. Was it worth it? Hell's yeah it was. I may have been disappointed in the selection at Half Price Books, but I did find some books that I ended up purchasing. Who ever said that book collecting was easy?So, onto my purchases.First up are the two purchases that I made at Barnes and Noble.

These two books are from the Barnes and Noble collectible leather bound editions. The one on the right is "The Wizard of Oz : The First Five Novels" by L. Frank Baum. This is a new edition to the collection, having just been released earlier this month. The five novels in this book are : The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, The Road to Oz. I already own "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in single novel form, also a Barnes and Noble leather bound edition, but I thought that it would be nice to own this beautiful edition of five novels. This is a yellow leather bound book with embossed green and silver illustrations on the front cover, spine, and back cover. The pages are gilded in green! Beautiful illustrations throughout the book. I love this edition, and am pleased to have it in my library. You can get your own copy by following this link : Barnes and Noble - The Wizard of Oz

The second book is not necessary one that I had planned on purchasing, but as Barnes and Noble was having their buy one get one half off sale, I decided to go for it. It is a collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald, but oddly enough one of his best known works is not included in this edition (The Great Gatsby). You can get your own copy by following this link : Barnes and Noble - This Side of Paradise and other Classic Works

Next up are the purchases that I made at Half Price Books.

"Skin and Other Stories" by Roald Dahl, as well as "The Umbrella Man and Other Stories" by Roald Dahl. These books sound so intriguing, and I look forward to reading them. The third book is "The Metamorphosis and Other Stories" by Franz Kafka. All just paperback editions, nothing special, but all books that I have been wanting to read. I did not own any of these titles in my library previously.

Then we have "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I just recently added this book to my want to read list. "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn. Again, just paperback editions and nothing special.

Last are these two paperbacks that I found in the clearance for $0.50 a piece. "Many Waters", and "An Acceptable Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. These are books four and five to the Time Quintet series. I could not find these at the library, and figured that $1.00 spent in order to read these was money well spent.

2 comments:

You are a true book nerd, dashing through the rain, books clutched to your body as though it were a child needing protection. Love it! Of course, 'Geek Love' is one of my favorite books. And I might recommend 'Was' by Geoffrey Ryman. It came out the same year as 'Geek Love' and both were among the NYT Best for that year. I have read it six times. If you love the 'Wizard Of Oz', Ryman's book will make you think about it differently forever on.

I would be a poor book collector indeed if I did not use my body as a human shield to protect my books when duty calls. :) I actually discovered "Geek Love" through you, Tim. I have not actually read it yet, but the description really intrigued me and it is now on my TBR list. I will look into "Was", thank you. I tried "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire, and I just did not care for it.

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The Name of the Windby Patrick Rothfuss

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* One Star: I despised it and most likely set it aside with disgust, distaste, and contempt.** Two Stars: I did not enjoy it, and I probably did not finish it.*** Three Stars: It was just 'okay'. I'm really in the middle on this rating.
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About My Blog

Pursuing the White Whale is my metaphor for the sheer impossibility of reading all of the great works of literature in one's lifetime.

Here I will rate and review books, discuss book related topics, and open the door to my life of reading.